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131st Truskan
The 131st Truskan (known as the 'Frostrangers') are a regiment of the Astra Militarum that hails from the frigid world of Trusk. Experts in mountain and arctic warfare, they are also notable marksmen, possessing many superbly gifted snipers within their ranks. The Truskan 131st were briefly a part of the military expedition that played in important role in the post-operations of the Second War for Armageddon. History The formation of the 131st Truskan "Frostrangers" was originally ordered as part of Commissar Sebastian Yarrick's military expedition to wipe out the Great WAAAGH! of Ghazghkull Thraka, in order to provide some supplementary arctic biome specialists to the expedition. Despite serving with dedication in the frozen mountains with which Truskans are so familiar, the 131st's service under the command of Yarrick's expedition could be called 'unremarkable' at best. Their service with Yarrick lasted a mere 4 years before they were diverted away to combat other threats to the imperium. Placed under the command of a charismatic young Colonel, Lauri Rinne, it was only after this time that the Truskan 131st began to serve with any particular distinction. Now given over full command of the regiment, Colonel Rinne decided to put these strengths to use. Thus, he reorganized the 131st into a highly efficient force of airborne light infantry, capable of engaging from incredible distances with even the most rudimentary weaponry. From that point, the Truskan 131st quickly gained renown for this ability to fight effectively at such extreme range under the cover of powerful air support. Even more, the unusually high number and quality of the 131st's snipers quickly impressed their allies. Able to deliver deadly, pinpoint accurate fire under even the most extreme pressure, winds, and weather conditions from astounding distances, they earned the 131st its nickname, the "Frostrangers". The regiment's most veteran snipers possess such keen eyesight and marksmanship that they have, on rare occasion, been documented delivering killing shots to Renegade Commanders before forward Ratling auxilia were in range to engage. Being a light infantry regiment specializing in high-altitude terrain would mean that the 131st deployed very few armored vehicles, and possessed only the most rudimentary artillery in the form of handheld mortars. Recognizing this weakness early on in his reformation process, Colonel Rinne called upon a friendship, Group Captain Alexsander Taggart, of the 752nd Air Support Operations Group of the Aeronautica Imperialis. In the name of the Emperor, Taggart answered the call of his friend and leveraged the entire Aeronautica Imperialis Group to be indefinitely attached to the Frostrangers’ regiment, as well as himself. The Truskan foot-soldiers quickly grew appreciative of the powerful air superiority provided by the various squadrons. The 752nd's fighters, bombers, and tactical aircraft soon because almost synonymous with the Frostrangers, and were lovingly nicknamed "Frostwings" by the grateful Truskans. Firstly for the white stripes painted across the leading edges of their wings, and secondly for the inordinate and extremely dangerous amounts of ice that would accumulate on the aircraft over the course of a battle. Following the reformations by Colonel Rinne, the 131st would go on to participate in many campaigns against the Xenos, traitorous Astra Militarum Regiments, and even, notably, the forces of Chaos. Indeed, despite acquitting themselves exceptionally well through the course of several relatively minor wars from 950-962.M41, an Imperial Scribe noted the regiment for their prior disappointing performance during Yarrick's expedition. Deemed 'particularly expendable,' in 963.M41, the 131st received an assignment to participate in the Gehenna Crusade. The invasion of a daemon-world. Imperial forces were only narrowly defeated. But, as the only Astra Militarum Regiment in participation, the Frostrangers' losses were unsurprisingly devastating. However, after the conclusion of the Gehenna Crusade in 975.M41, Astra Militarum High Command was shocked to discover that the 131st, though severely depleted, had not been entirely destroyed. Lauri Rinne and the remaining veterans who emerged from the campaign were harshly interrogated and heavily reviewed for taints of Chaos. Many were executed. Yet Colonel Rinne himself and many more of the survivors were found, notwithstanding the presence of some new mental instabilities, to be surprisingly clean of the influence of Chaos. Despite some reservations, the remainder of the regiment was ultimately returned to service and heavily reinforced. Rinne and the Frostrangers were redeployed closer to home, to combat the innumerable Xenos threats within the beleaguered Charadon Sector. Several years were spent in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the Eldar of Craftworld Alaitoc, Rinne's finest snipers constantly harassing and being harassed by Eldar Rangers across myriad worlds in the sector. Several times, even during unrelated wars and campaigns, the 131st would find itself under ambush by these Eldar, or would otherwise find an opportunity to lay ambush themselves. Colonel Rinne would never allow such opportunities to go to waste. During one campaign to retake the Mining World of Ionus from the Ork WAAAAAGHs which plague Charadon sector, the Frostrangers dispatched a team of scouts to circle around the mountainous battlefield and assassinate the local Warboss, Ironstompah. The team was destroyed by an unusually large force of Alaitoc Rangers seeking to extract an ancient relic from within nearby mines, but not before the team called in the situation over Vox. Faced with a decision to either complete the campaign against the Orks or redeploy to assault the Eldar position, Colonel Rinne, in an incredibly audacious, and perhaps completely insane, gambit, airlifted himself and every sniper within his force over the mountains to ambush the Eldar. As they crossed, the Truskans would decimate Ork air power by opening the doors of their Valkyrie transports and firing thousands of aimed shots at the Ork pilots, all as Rinne shouted taunts to the Orks and litanies of praise to the Emperor over the squadron vox-casters. Even so, many hundreds of Trusk’s finest marksmen, and Valkyries,were lost. Still, the Eldar were shocked, and then quickly routed by the overwhelming firepower and long-range marksmanship of the Truskans who survived the crossing. Valkyrie-deposited snipers firing down from mountainous perches left the Eldar with no choice but to abandon their search and retreat to the Webway. This decision cost the regular Truskan companies dearly as the Orks took advantage of Rinne’s abandonment of the field. It was only the actions of Alexsander Taggart that salvaged the campaign. After brutally punishing the regiment and inflicting horrible losses, the Orks, with their air support severely depleted, were finally obliterated by Taggart's carpet-bombing campaign, which lasted a week. In the closing years of the 41st Millennium, like thousands of other regiments, the 131st was called toward the Eye of Terror to defend against Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade. Despite their prior experience with Chaos, the Frostrangers were instead assigned to intercept Drukhari raiding parties who were attempting to take advantage of the quite literal chaos in order to steal away slaves. Initially, they were met with surprising success, outmaneuvering the Drukhari on several planets. They rescued thousands of captured slaves from being taken to a horrific fate in Commorragh, and doubtless prevented even more from being taken. However, it was not to last. The Drukhari are nothing if not devious, and in 999.M41, the 131st Truskan were finally, thoroughly outmaneuvered in a Drukhari counter attack. Their positions were overrun and their brilliant snipers were forced to fight a desperate close-quarters battle. Colonel Rinne had no choice but to order the execution of all the liberated Drukhari prisoners, to save them from recapture and bloodcurdling torture. On the fields of Tavata IV, the Frostrangers were broken, and nearly annihilated. Colonel Rinne surveyed the field, realizing that he, and no other, was to blame for this carnage. He had been the one who’d sapped his own regiment’s to chase a tertiary enemy. And now they lacked the strength to fight for the Emperor when it mattered far more. Calling upon his old friend, Alexsander Taggart one last time, Colonel Rinne called out to the Drukhari Archon on the field, and ran to face him in single combat. The Archon, amused, slowly, painfully, but easily, cut Rinne to ribbons. Rinne was able to deliver but a single blow, slashing into the Archon's leg with his chainsword, and spitting in his face. Outraged, the Drukhari warlord prepared to torture Rinne in the field. But he would never get the chance. The Archon and the Colonel were struck down by Taggart's last Hellstrike missile, as Lauri intended. The last remaining survivors of the 131st were evacuated by Taggart and the 752nd Frostwings, numbering only a few hundred. The Drukhari also made their escape to the webway, dragging many screaming Truskans with them, though, ultimately, far fewer humans than they had originally collected. One of the only surviving officers of the campaign, Raakel Saari, was promoted to Colonel and made the new Regimental commander in 001.M42. Group Captain Taggart pushed hard with the Imperial Navy and was ultimately allowed to keep his Group attached to the 131st. Colonel Raakel Saari returned the regiment to Trusk to rebuild it nearly from scratch. And rebuild it she did, with tens of thousands of Truskan tribesmen eager to join the celebrated regiment. The regiment's growing renown on Trusk led it to become larger than it had ever been before. Now, as the Galaxy grows even darker in the 42nd Millennium, the Truskan Frostrangers continue their fight for the Emperor and his Imperium wherever and whenever called. Colonel Saari begins to develop a reputation as a brilliant tactician *and* strategist and more than a worthy successor to Lauri Rinne. She has even been known to personally lead Frostranger Kill Teams. Whether Crusading against endless tides of Orks, striking Drukhari raiders in vengeful ambushes, or even standing against T'au expansionism, the 131st Truskan 'Frostrangers' fight on, from the highest mountain peaks to the coldest tundras. And there have been no shortage of the Emperor's enemies to fall within their targeting sights. Notable Campaigns * The Gehenna Crusade (967-975.M41)- Launched by the Imperial Sentinels Chapter of Space Marines, the 131st were assigned to the crusade by Astra Militarum high command, being ordered to assist the Imperial Sentinels as punishment for supposed failures in years past. The first real test of Lauri Rinne's reforms would prove his ideas to be shockingly effective. But the Crusade was the invasion of a daemon world, and the 131st stood as the only Astra Militarum regiment in participation. Despite exacting a heavy toll upon the Chaotic forces aligned against them, the 131st also took heavy losses. Still, through faith and grit, nearly 20% of the regiment miraculously emerged from the crusade, alive and surprisingly pure. * Charadon Campaign (977-985.M41) - The Arch-Arsonist of Charadon has proven to be one of the deadliest Grand Warlords in the entire Galaxy. But while he pushed further out into the Galaxy, many regiments were assigned to flank behind the main WAAAGH! and retake the planets the Arch-Arsonist had previously conquered. Now able to fight Orks using their natural aptitudes, the Frostrangers proved themselves more than capable of fighting the greenskins. Several worlds within the Charadon Sector were liberated, and the Ork garrisons, crushed. * The Ranger Wars (980-991.M41) - Even as the 131st combated the Ork menace of the Charadon Sector, the Frostrangers frequently clashed with the Rangers of Craftworld Alaitoc. Often seeking the same relics, securing the same forests, hunting each other, and sometimes even stumbling upon each other by accident, the Truskans found a frustratingly strong opponent in Alaitoc. Always trading the upper hand, and despite Colonel Rinne growing somewhat obsessive about hunting the Aeldari, neither side of the conflict particularly gained any long-term strategic advantage by the time the 131st was ordered out of the sector. * Operation Longbow (991-998.M41) - Operation Longbow was a several year long campaign spread across the Segmentum Pacificus and Segmentum Tempestus, in which the 131st Truskan were deployed to combat Genestealer Cult uprisings across myriad worlds. Though mostly specifically deployed to hunt cults which had established hidden bases of operations in the wilderness, the Frostrangers also found themselves hunting within the deepest depths of hive cities or even underground. The campaign was considered mostly successful, with the Frostrangers' skill in such environments playing strongly into their hands. * Operation Seraphim (999.M41)- What would ultimately prove to be Lauri Rinne's last campaign, Operation Seraphim was launched in response to Drukhari raiders attacking areas surrounding the Cadian system. Taking advantage of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, the Drukhari launched multiple strikes out of the Webway, taking thousands upon thousands of human prisoners, both civilian and military. Given their experience in combating the Aeldari, the 131st were assigned to a leading role in the operation. Initially meeting with great success, the Truskans were ultimately outmaneuvered and crushed. Colonel Lauri Rinne was killed in action, the rescued prisoners were executed, and the 131st Truskan was almost completely annihilated. However, for their part, the Drukhari were made to pay dearly, and the prisoners were ultimately rescued from a horrific fate in Commorragh. Thus the surviving Truskans considered it to be an extremely pyrrhic victory. Homeworld The stalwart tribes of Trusk live a harsh life on their ice world. Almost all Truskans become excellent marksmen out of necessity. Trusk, of course, is most famous for its tough and tenacious Cadian-style regiments, often referred to as the "Truskan Snowhounds." However, the Truskan 131st was marshaled from those tribes who chose to live in the most mountainous or high-altitude glaciers of the planet. Constantly experiencing white-out blizzards with hurricane-force winds, and endlessly hunted by the ferocious white monsters that stalk the glaciers, those who managed to thrive in such conditions developed incredibly keen eyesight. This meant that the 131st was uniquely suited for service as an elite light infantry regiment, rather than "shock troops" like the traditional Snowhound regiments. Regimental Organisation The 131st Truskan, being a regiment drawn from some more sparse and specific populations on an ice world, for most of its history has been smaller than an average Astra Militarum regiment. Due to a recent increase in fame on Trusk, their numbers have swelled to approximately 15,000. The organization of the 131st, for the most part, however, is quite ordinary, with two notable exceptions. The regiment is organized into three companies of 4,000 regulars, and each company is divided into three platoons. First and second platoon are regular Truskan guardsmen. Third platoon in each company is always a dedicated corps. Mortars, Plasma Gunners, and Grenadiers in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Company, respectively. The first exception is an extremely high number of Militarum Auxilia forces operating in attachment to the 131st, including both Bullgryn and Ratlings, numbering in the several hundreds. This, along with its Aeronautica Imperialis support, is to help supplement the regiment's lack of armored firepower and artillery. The second exception is a fourth infantry company, the so-called "Horizon Company." So named for the company's members' ability to supposedly be capable of killing any target under the visible horizon. Every single one of Horizon Company's 2,000 members is a sniper, and not one man or woman in the 131st is permitted to carry a sniper rifle except those who earn a place in Horizon Company. Only those guardsmen who first display exceptional marksmanship in battle amongst their comrades with the standard issue lasgun are granted either a kinetic Sniper Rifle or a Long-Las Sniper Rifle and given permission to join Horizon Company. Since most Truskans are already exceptional marksmen, this means the members of Horizon Company are deadly hunters indeed. Additional assets such as the regiment's very few ground vehicles and psykers are simply kept aside from any official company, to be used as directed by the Regiment Commander. Uniform & Equipment Much like the Truskan Snowhound regiments, the 131st makes use of Cadian style gear and uniforms, modified for winter warfare. Thermally insulated fatigues, covered in white and grey camouflage are worn beneath steely blue flak armor, to provide some measure of visual camouflage in the winter environments the Frostrangers are commonly deployed to. Beyond that, each guardsman is provided with a standard Astra Militarum guardsman's equipment, also based on the equipment of the Cadian shock-trooper. Said equipment includes: * Kantrael Pattern M36 Lasrifle * 10 Lasgun Power Packs * 2 Frag Grenades * 2 Krak Grenades * Thermal bedroll * Combi-tool * Mess Kit, Canteen, and 1 week's rations * Grooming Kit * ''The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer'' Finally, the Truskan Frostrangers are each given a pack of mountaineering gear. This includes necessities such as rope, hooks, harnesses, carabiners, crampons, and ice axes. Regimental Appearance Regimental Colors The 131st Truskan regimental colors include whites, greys, steely blues, and gold. The Frostrangers almost universally wear these colors, which serve as a moderate level of camouflage in the snowy mountains they most frequently operate in. The gold trim on the Imperial Aquilas they wear, however, is in honor of the Emperor Notable Members Colonel Lauri Rinne: Immediately prior to the 131st's removal from Commissar Yarrick's expedition, the Regimental Commander was executed for incompetence. Lauri Rinne found himself promoted into the vacancy unexpectedly, but took to the position well. Being Truskan himself, he immediately instituted reforms to convert the 131st into a light infantry regiment which would specialize in the types of warfare that the Truskan tribespeople of the regiment would be naturally suited for. He would then lead the 131st on to new success through a combination of charisma, daring, and a deep tactical sense. This continued until he met a heroic end facing Drukhari Slavers at the end of the 41st Millennium. Colonel Raakel Saari: Originally joining the 131st Truskan as part of the reinforcements delivered after the Gehenna Crusade, Raakel Saari began her career as a regular guardswoman. During the campaigns against the Ork warbands of Charadon Sector, Saari quickly proved herself an incredibly accurate markswoman, seemingly not missing a single shot in the entire Battle of Acarro III. She was quickly recommended and subsequently promoted to Horizon squad, where she continued her meteoric ascent. A gifted sniper, Saari displayed the tactical sense to be able to pick out just which officers, warbosses, or farseers were most important to the battle in a given moment, then intuitively calculate the perfect killshot, consistently. By 994.M41, she had been promoted to Company Commander of Horizon Company. After Lauri Rinne's death in 999.M41, she was then further promoted to Regimental Commander of the 131st. She leads the Frostrangers to this day, proving to be a brilliant strategic mind, as well as a competent field commander when she occasionally chooses to lead Truskan Kill Teams on strike missions. Group Captain Alexsander Taggart: Technically the Group Captain of the Aeronautica Imperialis 752nd Air Support Operations Group, Alexsander Taggart is also nominally a member of the 131st Truskan, serving as an Officer of the Fleet attaché to the Regimental Commander. A man of notably deep faith in the Emperor, when not flying his beloved Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter, 'Aurora,' Taggart serves on the ground, directing his pilots and informing them of the ever-changing flow of battle, as well as advising the Regimental Commander. A close friend to Colonel Rinne, Taggart has turned down several opportunities for advancement within the Aeronautica Imperialis in order to continue serving with the Frostrangers. After the death of Colonel Rinne, the aging Taggart has remained in attachment to the 131st in order to assist Colonel Raakel Saari's efforts. He was instrumental in Colonel Saari's reconstruction efforts, and continues to be instrumental in her campaigns across the Galaxy. 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